Aperture Ended....

Hello! I'm not sure if anyone remembers us or wants to read this blog anymore since it's been over a year (yikes!) since I've posted anything...but I will be better just because I don't have any other form of journaling. I realize that posting everything we've done over the past year is a bit extreme, so I'll just stick to the highlights from the summer! (More pictures can be found on the slide show!)

 

Joshua LOVES the pool. He loves water and being outside. For some reason, 3 of the 4 times we've been to the pool he has fallen asleep. This picture was taken just before he fell asleep at the Logan Public pool. So sad! It's also bad because he was smiling just 3 minutes before this picture was taken.

We went to Brigham City to watch the fireworks with the Spencer side of the family. As you can tell, Joshua was not happy. He loved the fireworks though. He kept pointing at them and saying, "Oooh!" He is so adorable. Then, of course, he fell asleep. Go figure!

I bought Dallas tickets to the Salt Lake Real Soccer game for his birthday. Joshua got a free shirt and was loving it! He loves his Daddy!

We drove out to West Virginia to visit my brother and his family. It was so good to see them all! Joshua loves playing with his cousins! He plays so rough; it's good that he has so many boy cousins to play with!

I love this picture! Joshua loves to eat the apples from my parents' house. He'll grab a stick and wack at the apples until just the right one falls down. Then he'll carry it around and eat it. He loves to bite through the apple, but he doesn't have bottom molars yet, so he just gums on the apple for a while then hands me the "chewed" bits so he can get another bite! He is so cute! I can hardley stand it!

This was in  West Virginia. We tried all summer long to get Joshua to wear a hat. This was the only one he would keep on for longer than just 1 minute. Go Mountaineers!

 

Also for Dallas's birthday, I bought him tickets to Oregon Ducks opening game in Eugene, OR. As many of you know, Dallas is a die hard Ducks fan and it was like watching a kid in DisneyLand. He was so happy and excited to see Eugene, the Autzen Stadium and all the other sites in "Duckville". It was totally worth the drive and the money to share this experience with Dallas. And, Joshua was a smash hit in his mini-Duck Mascot costume. He got a lot of high fives! Josh was so cute, he would cheer and say, "OOOOO" with the rest of the crowd.

 

We had a blast this summer! It was just a whirlwind of fun. I finally got to see my brothers and their homes, and spend some awesome times with family and friends. I loved every minute of it!

 

Until next time...

Bathtime...

My baby hates the bath. When he hears the tub running, he starts to frown and whimper. When I get out his bath seat, he starts to fuss. When I put him in the actual tub, he screams like I have dipped him in hot oil. He will raise his little bottom out of the tub and squirm and kick. When I finally take him out of the tub, he will cuss me out for about five minutes afterwards.

On the other hand, he loves showers. He will lean into the water and try to lick the droplets that land on his face. He loves to spread his legs and just let the water run over him. He's such a little cunundrum with his own little personality. I love trying to figure him out.

Please welcome...

Our sweet baby Joshua. Born 5-6-11 at 8:17pm. 7 lbs and 5 oz and 19 inches.
After only 5 hours of labor!
He loves loves loves his daddy. And we love love love him! :)
He doesn't have a "schedule" yet. I guess he does, but we haven't figured it out yet! :)
Blessed by his Dad on 6-5-11. We were grateful for those that could come and missed those that were absent.

Love,
Andrea Spencer

10 things they don't tell me about pregnancy...

1 - I don't get heartburn. I get the raging-fires-from-Hades taking revenge for everything I swallow (or sometimes smell, yes, I said smell.) Even water can have this unfortunate result.

2 - The weight I gain is because I'm putting stuff in, but nothing comes out. 'nough said.

3 - I don't get emotional. I get crazy. I was sitting in a class and in 10 minutes I experienced every emotion I believe possible. I was happy, sad (tearing up about to cry sad), angry, frustrated, annoyed, calm, anxious, patient, restless, and everything in between. Hopefully the instructor realized it wasn't REALLY because of her... she is dealing with 4 pregnant (aka crazy) ladies after all.

4 -It's not only my feet that swell. I have been missing my fingers, wrists, knees, etc. for a while now.

5 - Charlie Horses. Everywhere. All the time.

6 - Morning Sickness feels like I'm on a rollercoaster with the stomache flu all day, every day. Oh, and you just ate a chili cheese dog.

7 - The first time I saw my baby on the ultra sound machine was one of the happiest days and also the scariest of my life.

8 - From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I loved and feared this baby. I knew that no matter what the outcome of this pregnancy was/is... I have been changed for good.

9 - The nesting period... Why do little things cost so much money?

10 - Every kick in the ribs, every movement from this little guy is the best thing in the world. And (I know I haven't given birth yet... but) I would put up with all the aches and pains in the world for as long as I had to in order to have a healthy, happy baby. I think it's wonderful that having a baby requires so much sacrifice. That way, when the little one arrives we can understand (even if not fully) how truly precious these little ones are.

Say 'ello to my leetle friend...

Okay, I'll admit that this isn't a true picture of the thumbsucker inside me, but this saves me time...and honestly, they look A LOT alike. :) Anyway, our baby will be born sometime during the early/middle of May. We have recieved several different due dates... so we'll just say the 13th. We haven't decided on a name, but we're searching for boy names! After so long of praying and waiting for this to happen, we recognize how truly blessed we are and see the hand of our Heavenly Father in our lives. We love you all and pray for your happiness.

Posting Resolutions...and other stuff

Today while I was waiting for church to start, I did a little reading on your blogs. While reading, I noticed that I haven't updated for 5 weeks! "OH MY!" I said to myself. "It's time you start blogging again." So, here I am. There are so many things I need to update ya'll up on, but I'll start with Christmas. Over the next couple days I'll give you more little goodies to read. :)

Christmas was fantastic! We got to see all of our family this year! We spent Christmas Eve with Dallas's family and everyone was there except his sister and her family. They joined us on Christmas morning for presents and waffles...which I made. I am loosing my mind because they turned out to be the worst pile of cooked waffle dough...Dallas's dad was kind and ate them, but I was for throwing the sorry looking bunch out.

After that, everyone left except Dallas's brother Nathan. So, we had a grand ole time setting up for Christmas dinner. We lugged heavy tables and counted chairs...and as a reward for our efforts we got slurpees from 7-11. Yum. SO GOOD! (But they always give me brain freezes...and what's up with those sttraws?)

Anyway, we had dinner with Dallas's mom's siblings and their kids. It was pretty crazy because they were all there. Even Uncle Howie and his wife drove from Canada!

Well, after dinner Dallas and I drove down to my parent's house in Preston, and hung out with them. We played Ticket to Ride and had a lot of fun. My nephew Gordon kept thwarting my plans by building trains right were I needed to! And my neice Akazia was so funny helping us out with the draw card pile. They are so much fun, and I'm glad we got to spend time with them and get to know their personalities better.

We had the "official" Knapp Christmas Party the day after Christmas. It was really nice because no one had any other family to run off to, and we could just take our time and be together.

Fast forward to New Year's. My nephew Ethan's birthday. He is such a funny kid! He is so easy to please. He is a special kid and I'm happy he is in our family.

Well, now you know why I need to update more over the next couple days... You would be reading til next year if I wrote everything all at once! :)

Well, until next time!

31 Things I'm Grateful For...

1. Dallas
2. My mom and dad
3. Dallas' mom and dad
4. in-laws
5. brothers
6. sisters
7. My Savior
8. The Gospel
9. Relief Society
10. The Priesthood
11. Temple Marriage
12. Temples
13. My apartments
14. The seasons (in this order)
~ summer
~ spring
~ fall
~ winter
15. Ultrasounds
16. my students
17. electricity
18. cars
19. city funded buses
20. microwaves
21. hot water (for showers, dishes, and laundry)
22. cold water
23. my job
24. birthday cake
25. candles
26. flowers (both kinds)
27. magnets
28. pictures
29. vacuums
30. towels
31. snow scrapers

*Please note that these are not in order of importance or the level or degree in which I like them or am grateful for them.

IT'S ALIVE!!! (at least...we are.) :)

Ahhh, what a crazy couple of months we have had. To sum it all up, I will say only two words. Work...and pictures. So... without further ado... here we go!

Dallas and I took a little trip down to Vegas. With winter showing his frost-bitten face, we decided to go enjoy some warm weather. Here we are at the new City Center. It was just being finished when we moved, so we thought we'd take a self-guided tour. It had a garden, if you will, of vortexes...vortexi? Anyway, they were cool.

These are the stairs. I just thought they were awesome. To my dismay though, everytime I tried to take a picture someone was walking down the stairs!!! Dallas just rolled his eyes at me when I complained about it. I guess I do sound silly. What else would they do with stairs?

This creepy grandmother willow was at the Bellagio Gardens. (If you haven't been there before, you should go. IT'S FREE!! Plus IT'S AWESOME!!)
The biggest pumpkin I have ever laid my eyes on! Well, one of them at least. They had these GINORMOUS pumpkins...I think this one was close to 1000 lubs!

And finally, this awesome thing. It's like a tree fountain. The water was falling out of the branches. It was just beautiful. They have many more wonders...for example snapping venus fly traps that were large enough to capture a man's hand! Huge leaves falling from the ceiling...I love this place.

Anyway, we also visted some of our old haunts. Buffalo Wild Wings, Fry's, the library, etc. Well, that's it for me.

Peace.

Opportunity comes knocking...

Hey everyone! (Hopefully people are still reading about our little life!)
The past couple of months have gone by in a flash. So many things have happened, that I need to start at the beginning.

It begins with an end. The end of the 2009-2010 school year came and I found myself without a job. (Turns out, they don't have a need for substitute teachers during the summer) So, I tracked down an email address a friend gave me and applied for a bill processing job in Logan. I applied on a Wednesday, and by the next Monday I started a new job.

I REALLY enjoy working there. It's called Conservice and they are a third party billing company that handles billing and Utility processing for large companies and apartment complexes.

After I had worked there for about a week and a half, I get a phone call from the Preston Idaho School district. They wanted to interview me for a high school English position for the next school year. HURRAY! :) I was so nervous and excited.

I went down and since my husband wasn't available, by Dad gave me a father's blessing. I just want to interject here and say that I am so grateful for worthy Priesthood holders in my life.

Anyway, I have my interview and go back to work in Logan. The next day Von Tobel, the Middle School I taught at in Vegas, calls me and asks me to come back and teach for them! My goodness, I was so torn. I told them I would LOVE to, but I needed to get back to them because of my interview in Preston.

So, I'm nervous, and grateful because I realize that no matter what happens, we won't be homeless for another year! :)

So, I go into the District office the next week to talk to the Superintendent. We chit-chat about why I would want to teach in Preston, my Education Philosophy, etc. and we shake hands and I leave. I'm just about resigned that I didn't get the job and preparing to call Vegas back, when (at 9:00 at night) the Principal, Mr. Lords, calls me and offers me the position in Preston!!!!!!!

I was/am super excited! Dallas is still working in Brigham City, and he will probably start getting client in Brigham and Logan, and throughout Bear River too! So, we got an apartment in Logan, we've been here about a week, and we are just so grateful for the prayers and support we've received.

We are so blessed in so many ways. It's crazy to think that we lived out of two suit cases for the past year, and now we have an apartment full of things that at one time or another we thought we needed. Well, life is exciting and keeps us jumping. Thanks again for all your support through out this past year.

Love,
Andrea

Happy Anniversary!

I love you Dallas Ray! The years have flown by! We have had quite the ride so far and I look forward to the rest. As long as I have you by my side, I know I can make it through anything!

My life is pretty great!

Despite my trials, I love my life. Here are some things I am grateful for... {not necessarily in order of greatness... :) }

~My husband! He is wonderful to me and goes out of his way to make my life easier. I am so glad I am his wife.

~My parents... (including in-laws) They are such a great support for Dallas and me. We would truly be homeless without them.

~My siblings! (still including in-laws... you are my siblings too!) I'm glad we can "play nicely" with each other. I truly treasure their friendship and love.

~My education! Even though I am not using it now, I'm glad I have that option.

~The Gospel. It makes an impact in EVERYTHING I do. I am glad to know that when I am frustrated, confused, or lonely I have a Heavenly Father that understands and knows how I feel. I am so glad that I have scriptures and prayer that can direct my life. I would undoubtedly be lost without my testimony of the everlasting principles of the Gospel.

~General Conference... (I know this ties into the Gospel, but oh well...) I love hearing the messages prepared for us by the Leaders of the Church. I'm glad that my husband and I can get direction for us through the guiding spirit they use to prepare for us.

~The Earth... It is so beautiful and amazing. It is so awesome to see and learn about different creatures, plants, and places in the world. We are all connected together. It really is a wonderful place to be.

These are just a few things that I am grateful for. I couldn't name them all, and some are all encompassing. I just wanted to share some of the wonderful things I see around me with you!

A Quick Update...

I realize that it may seem that Dallas and I have fallen off the edges of the world since last year... :( and I'm sorry for not keeping you updated. But! Here I am! Dallas and I have benn in Utah. Searching, searching, searching for jobs. It seems endless. This is in fact, one of the reasons why I haven't posted. I've been waiting for good news. None on the Job Front yet...
Our Holidays were WONDERFUL! It has been so good to see family! Dallas and I are VERY blessed with supportive families and friends. I will try to be better at posting our every day happenings...(or weekly...whichever...)
Peace!

Vegas...a Tribute

(Click for larger image...and better view. :) )

Dallas and I have been out of Vegas for about a month now, and we decided to pay tribute to a great year of our lives. This is a tribute to some of the things we knew and loved in Vegas. There are a lot of wonderful, fun, fairly inexpensive things to do there. We met a lot of good people and made some GrRrEeAaTt friends. Vegas, thanks for taking us in and helping us get to know ourselves better.

Projects

I decided that with school out (and the job hunting for Dallas is in full mode), that I would deliver on the "projects" that I promised those of you who responded to the St. Patties game. Since she and Ben just had a baby girl, (and since I'm baby hungry :}) I decided to make them a little girl blanket. In the rules, she has to post it on her blog, but I wanted to show it off. I am very happy with myself. :D It took me almost a full week! WOW! Anyway... THANK YOU MOM You made it possible by telling me how many yards I would need, how to iron flannel, and what to do with rick rack so it doesn't fold up. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I am grateful that I can call you and get help on things like this! I look forward to our next project! :) And a shout out to the lady in Wal*Mart who kindly helped me decide what shade of pink to go with.

Wonderful, Horrible, Crazy, Loving Life...

It's been a crazy long time since I've posted anything of significance...mainly, I just wanted to get done with school and have some time to do so. SO!! Without further ado, here is what the Spencers of Las Vegas have been up to...

INTRODUCING..... SHAUNA! My new sister-in-law. She married Dallas's brother, Taylor, in the Bountiful Temple on May 15, 2009. Hurray! WE LOVE THEM!!! It was SO cool to be with them in the Temple and share their First Day of Forever. I love ALL my family members, and I am so happy to be adding to it through the Gospel. It truly is a great part of who I am. I am so grateful for everything the Gospel brings into my life.

The tulips at the Temple were phenomenal! They were so breath-taking that I couldn't stop taking pictures if them. Particularly this patch of flowers. I promise they ARE real...no photo shop here!

Saturday was fun as well! Enjoying the beauty of the world... (I know, I didn't think Las Vegas had anything NATURE-wise that was beautiful either....) Molly and her Fiance, Chris, took us hiking with them up to "Mary Jane Falls"... It was a small hike of 3 miles...needless to say, I took ALOT more breaks than anyone else... It has rejuvenated my goal of working out more.

The falls were a small trickle. You can see how they made the rocks wet behind us...but beautiful.

This is the saddest part of my journey. Molly B. O'Connell and I will no longer be teaching together. :'( {SOB} She is working at a High School next year (YEY FOR HER!) and I will be... who knows where. She has become one of my best friends. It will be so sad to leave Las Vegas knowing I will be leaving behind a kindred spirit.

Dallas goes Digital...

Because of my ADDICTION to checking blogs, facebook, email, etc... my husband decided that the only way for him to get my attention was to become "Digital Dallas"! So, he grabbed his cell phone and the iPod and made himself a new face! Due to this new Digital Dallas, I have tried so hard to pay more attention to him, and less attention to blogs.

I really got into Blogging, Facebook, etc. during his Finals week, but now it's past, I'm no longer a widow!

HURRAY FOR GRADUATION!

Weekend Fun!

Dallas's mom and dad came down for the weekend. We had a lot of fun! We went to a small production of "My Turn on Earth" (which I had never seen...for some reason I thought it was "Saturday's Warrior?") It was cute. Cheesy, but cute. While we were there, we ran into my Relief Society President and her family. It was fun to see them and have Netta and Randy meet them. We also went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay Casino. It's the 3rd time Dallas and I have been, but it never gets old. They have a petting area where you can pet Sting Rays, Crab thing-ys and sometimes... SHARKS! But not yesterday... :( The whole weekend was filled with good food, good entertainment, and great company. :)

Waiting at Subway for the ticket office to open.

You can't really see it, but this is a fountain in Mandalay Bay... it's made of frogs! It's really cool!

This Will Shock Andrea

So, I realized that Andrea is the one that always updates the blog and she doesn't think that I care much about it. Well I get credit for all the wonderful work that she does so I just thought I would give her a shout out. I love her and hope she keeps up the good work.

Dallas is almost done with school!

Hurray!

Now... if only I was almost done with school.

Wouldn't that be a BLAST!?!

School Days (a poem)

I wish I was done

Oh, I wish I were through

Middle School...Goodbye!

(It's a Haiku!)

I'm just a little worn out. But, we have some AwEsOmE things planned for the last weeks of school. We are going to re-write Othello... FUN! and then write a children's book and read it to the little preschoolers... HURRAY!

A Disneyland Birthday!

Hey everyone!
Time has flown by for me since I posted last. Dallas and I got to go to Disneyland for my birthday! They are running a special that the Birthday Girl (or boy) gets into the park for free on their birthday! So, we thought we would hit it up while we are footloose and fancy free! We were able to see so many things! We were able to see things, and go on rides that I didn't even know existed!

One of the coolest things about letting the birthday peeps in on their birthday, is you get a pin that says HAPPY BIRTHDAY (then they write your name on it). So, all throughout the day, people in line, workers, and passersby would wish me a Happy Birthday. I bet I was wished a Happy Birthday at least 100 times! And we would wish others Happy Birthday too! It made it feel like you had friends everywhere in the park! It was very VERY cool!
We got into the Park early and went straight for the fast passes. After we had stocked up on those, we went to the Tiki Room! I LOVE THE TIKI ROOM!!! I love to sing along and laugh at the crazy birds! Another ride that we went on was the Dumbo ride! They handed us these black wooden "Magic Feathers" and once we had boarded the ride, they took them away! Well, someone on the ride hid theirs! We spent about 7 minutes waiting for someone to cough up the magic feather! The ride attendants kept saying, "Dumbo cannot fly until we have all the magic feathers!" It was so funny!
We also got to see the NEW! Sleeping Beauty attraction! Dallas knows how much I LOVE Aurora, so he took pictures at every stop in the attraction! It was wonderful!
There was so much to do and we had so much fun! I wish I had time to write down everything that we got do see and do. You can see all the pictures below at the very bottom.

Before I go, I want to thank Dallas for being such a good husband. He makes me so happy! Even though he took me to Disneyland for my birthday, I want him to know that if we had stayed home and watched movies all day, as long as I get to spend my days with him I will be the happiest woman ever! He is my best friend, my confidant, my shoulder to cry on, and the love of my life! Thanks for sharing this life with me Dallas! I LOVE YOU MOST OF ALL! You are my favorite word!

I also want to thank everyone who called/text/sent me cards, etc. You are wonderful friends, family and supporters! Dallas and I would be lost and alone without each of you!